


exhaustion

by flowerpetal275



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Drabble, Exhaustion, Fluff and Angst, Insomnia, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Protective Kuroo Tetsurou, Sick Kozume Kenma, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Kozume Kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerpetal275/pseuds/flowerpetal275
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou was finally fed up with Kenma's lack of self-care.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	exhaustion

Today marked the first day of Kenma's sleep strike. 

It wasn't intentional, he either just lost track of time or his brain lost the motivation to go to bed. Simple as that. 

So he really didn't understand why Kuroo was so upset. 

"Kenma, you look dead on your feet." Kuroo chastises, his face churned with worry as he takes in his boyfriend's appearance. 

"It's fine, Kuroo." Kenma mutters a reply, rubbing at his dry eyes. 

"Did you sleep at all last night?" He squints at him. Kuroo can tell the answer is a hard 'no', but he figures he'll ask anyways. "And don't try to lie, I see right through you and you know it." 

Kenma groans, not in the mood to deal with Kuroo's attention this early in the morning. "I couldn't fall asleep, okay?" 

Kuro considers it for a moment, then gives in. At least Kenma hadn't been up playing video games all night, like usual. "Fine, but did you at least get breakfast?" 

Kenma's silent for a moment, which is answer enough for the team captain. "Kenma!" Kuro scolds incredulously, his hands flying up then landing against his thighs. "Why not?!" 

The smaller boy only shrugs in response, "Didn't feel like it. Now come on." He starts along the sidewalk, head nestled in his hoodie. He looked pretty cold, which was saying something because Kenma almost always looks cold. 

"Kenmaaa-" Kuroo sighs, disappointed in his setter. 

"Come ooon-" Kenma urges, grabbing Kuroo's jacket sleeve and dragging him along with him. "We'll be late." 

The day dragged on for the tired teen, drawing to a close once practice finally ended. 

"We still on for that sleepover?" Kuroo asks his bestfriend, pulling his volleyball jersey off. 

While Kuroo was excited to have, yet another, sleepover with Kenma, he also knew how badly the blonde needed sleep. So, he'd spend the sleepover making sure Kenma got the rest he needed. 

Kenma gives only a hum, but that's all Kuroo needs for confirmation. The two walk home together, Kuroo needing to slow his speed so Kenma's sluggish pace can, in one form or another, match his. 

_Kenma's POV_

The night passed like every other sleepover we've had: dinner, movies, and cuddling. Kuroo always loveeed the cuddles. But I wasn't about to complain. "You get some sleep, alright, kitten?" Kuroo whispers in my ear, his arms wrapped tightly around me as we lay in my bed. It's around nine, we'd just finished watching Big Hero 6--one of Kuroo's favorites. 

I could tell he was trying to outlast me staying up, but boy, oh boy, was he crashing hard. I nod, giving a hum. 

Yeah, I was tired, and my eyes felt like balls of sand. But none of that mattered if my brain made the spontaneous decision to never shut off. That wasn't up to me. 

So after around an hour and a half of laying awake, I sigh in defeat. It just wasn't gonna happen. 

As gently as I can manage, I wiggle out of Kuroo's grasp and grab my X-Box controller off the ground. I plug my headset in and start up Call of Duty--zombies, of course. 

At some point during the night, a headache starts pounding right behind my eyes. I ignore it, pressing onwards. I was trying to reach level up to 150 before morning came. 

Something lightly taps me on the shoulder, making me practically leap out of my skin. I pull one of my headphones off, turning to my right. 

Kuroo sits there, jaw agape as he stares at me. "You're kidding me, Kenma." He jabs a thumb at the window, "It's getting light outside. Why aren't you asleep?" His voice is tired, yet concerned. 

_Kuroo's POV_

Oh, when I tell you I was mad waking up to a gaming Kozume Kenma--I was _mad_. 

Just barely touching his shoulder scared the living daylights out of the boy. He turns to look at me, nudging his headphone off. 

His eyes are completely bloodshot, in great contrast to his dreadfully pale complexion. "You're kidding me, Kenma." I chastise, my eyes roaming his face, "It's getting light outside. Why aren't you asleep?" 

Kenma shrugs. That's literally it. 

"Kenma!" I exclaim, falling back against the bed again. "Did you even try?" 

He nods, "I couldn't fall asleep." 

I groan, sitting back up to try to pull Kenma back into bed, "Well, come try again." Kenma sighs, ultimately shutting off his console and crawling into bed beside me. "You're lucky it's Saturday now, so we can sleep in." I hum, gently playing with the shorter boy's hair. 

After a few minutes, I feel myself start to drift off, but I force my eyes back open. I look down at Kenma, checking to see if he's asleep yet. 

There he sits, eyes wide and just as bloodshot as ever. "Kenma?" His eyes shoot up to meet mine immediately, giving me yet another hum. "Just close your eyes, okay?" 

Kenma takes a deep breath, and I give a small sigh of relief as I see Kenma's eyes close. He'd have to fall asleep eventually, he must be exhausted. 

I wait another ten minutes, forcing myself awake. "Kitten?" I whisper quietly in an effort to see if he's still conscious. 

Almost immediately, Kenma's eyes shoot open. "Hm?" He hums. 

I sigh in defeat, leaning my head back on the pillows. "You're not gonna fall asleep, are you?" 

Kenma shakes his head, shutting his eyes again and taking another deep breath. "It just doesn't work." His voice is tense, as if he were on the verge of tears. 

"Hey, hey, it's okay, kitten." I gently run my hands through his hair, my fingers trailing his scalp. It looks as if he melts at the sensation. "Just relax." 

Kenma's small form molds against mine, his back pressed to my chest. I continue massaging his head, smiling as his features seem to soften. After a few minutes, I notice his breathing even out. I silently pray to (Asahi) that he's fallen asleep, but just in case, I keep massaging. 

I wasn't sure how long we sat like that for, but I knew by the time I fell asleep, the sun was just brimming the horizon. Kenma's curtains were shut tightly, per usual, so I wasn't worried about the morning light waking him. 

_Kenma's POV_

My eyes peep open one at a time. Exhaustion still pulls at my muscles, but I ignore it and move to rub at my remarkably dry eyes. 

I hear footsteps and look up to find Kuroo walking into the room. His eyesbrowd bunch together when he sees me, and he kneels down beside the bed. "Hey, kitten, why don't you go back to sleep?" 

I shake my head, groaning quietly, "What time is it?" 

Kuroo sighs, "Doesn't matter, you should get more rest." 

I slap my hand over my phone, picking up and squinting at the screen, "It's eight in the morning?" I yawn. 

"Yeah, you only got about two hours of sleep, so why don't you go ahead and-" 

"But I thought we had practice this morning?" I move to drag myself out of bed, but Kuroo gently pushes me back down. It onbioslt doesn't take much effort, considering how exhausted I am as is. 

"Kenma, you've been up for almost two days, and you've only gotten two hours of sleep." Kuroo chastises me, as if it were my fault. "You can't go to practice like this." 

"But-" 

"Close your eyes and go back to sleep, kitten." I can hear the determination in his voice. 

I groan, then grab his arm and tug him into bed with me. It's a pitiful attempt, he barely even moves an inch. "Get over here then." I order. Kuroo gives a breathy laugh, then lays in bed beside me. 

I curl up against his side, burying my face in his chest. Kuro's arm wraps around me, encompassing my balled-up form. 

I feel warm beside him; comfortable. 

My exhaustion melts away as I drift back into sleep, grateful for Kuro and his unconventional ability to continuosly get me to do what seems to be the impossible.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are much appreciated (: thanks for reading!


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